1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of identifying a passenger of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, vehicles are equipped with seats therein for passengers. The driver seat or passenger seats are equipped with various passenger identification devices that can classify the types of passenger, determine whether passengers seat on the seats, and whether the seat belts are fastened, when the passengers sit on the seats.
Pattern recognition type, pressure recognition type, and weight recognition type passenger identification devices are widely used, in which according to the pattern recognition type, a sensor mat is disposed on the seats of a vehicle and pressure sensors are arranged in a matrix on the sensor mat, such that it identifies the passenger by recognizing the weight and the pelvis pattern of the passenger on the seat.
According to the pressure recognition type, a thin bladder filled with liquid and a pressure sensor are mounted to the lower side of the seat cushion, such that the pressure sensor senses liquid leaking out from the bladder when a passenger sits on the seat, thereby identifying the passenger.
According to the weight recognition type, a strain gauge is mounted where a seat frame on the seat is mounted, such that the passenger sitting on the seat is identified by sensing the weight of the passenger.
However, even if various passenger identification devices described above are used, when passenger sits at a side of the seat or sits in an abnormal position, various identification errors occur, for example, it is determined that there is no passenger on the seat or a small adult is identified as a child.
When an adult is identified as a child due to an identification error, an airbag inflates to fit to the body shape of the child, such that the adult, the passenger, cannot be safely protected and may be secondarily injured by the airbag.
Further, when it is determined that there is no passenger on the seat, the airbag does not operate and the actual passenger may be seriously damaged, and as a result, many problems are caused by errors in passenger identification.